Tree-Planting
Tree planting is one of the main objectives of our trip to Vietnam and has been the main motivation throughout this whole project since its conception in June. Our initial idea was for conservation of the environment, which we did fulfill as we cleared the weeds that overcrowded the state land, and replaced them with saplings. Later on we learnt that to meet the needs of the environment and also that of the local economy, the mature trees will be felled for commercial use. Then the cycle of planting repeats itself. Nevertheless, the 30 years of their existence would beneficially help to produce much more oxygen for the atmosphere and prevent soil erosion.
Tree planting at the state land was no easy task, and we had to get a lot of guidance from the park rangers. We learnt that the state land was previously a forest. After villagers moved there, the trees were cut down to make way for coffee plantations. However, the coffee plants were later abandoned, and weeds soon took over. Our task then was to first clear the weeds and the neglected coffee trees and then plant saplings to regenerate the forest.
The first step was to clear some part of the state land first to make space for trees we were going plant. We had to cut away weeds and unwanted plants of our height, and some of us even tried our hands at chopping down coffee trees! It was real hard work, and that alone took us more than a morning.
The next day saw us digging holes for the trees in the hard, dry ground, covering them back with soil, before watering them. We then had to remove the tree saplings from their soil wraps and plant them into the holes, after which we completed the planting by watering. All these took place under the hot sun on mornings during the first week - some of us even got a tan from tree planting!
During the second week, we had to plant saplings over at the school and along the road right outside the school. A group of us started work by digging holes along the fence at one side of the school. Thankfully, the soil at the school was relatively softer and looser, making our job much easier and we completed the process of digging in a couple of hours’ time.
And so, we followed through the next day with the planting of the saplings. However, this time round, it was important for us to build a bamboo fence around each sapling to protect the small saplings from being eaten by goats. The building of the fences was not as straightforward as it sounds, as we’d to walk quite a distance (around 3km) to an area with fresh bamboo, cut them, transport the bamboo back to the school on foot, chop them into smaller sections, and then build the fences for each and every sapling. Though it may sound easy now, but it was definitely not. In fact, it was the most tedious process of all!
We spent our last two mornings at the village repeating the same steps along the road outside of the school. Additionally, some of us will have to water the saplings at the forest area, at the school and along the road, nearly every day after the saplings are planted. Watering of the saplings at the forest area is more complicated, as water needs to be transported from the school to the area. Fortunately, two of the Vietnamese volunteers with us were able to ride motorbikes borrowed from the teachers to transport the water, thereby easing the process of watering for us. Some of us even got the chance to sit on these motorbikes when transporting the water, enjoying the evening breeze while seeing the village scenes whizz by.
In retrospect, tree-planting is a rather interesting process, for digging the holes were backbreaking; on the other hand, planting the tree itself was quite delicate work comparatively. There was a lot to learn from this experience, such as the right ways of handling the tools, the entire process of tree-planting, and the fact that it was important to build fences around the saplings to protect them. All these would have been difficult for us, coming from the urbanised environment of Singapore, to learn from anywhere else. If not for the trip, i believe most of us would not have the chance to use these tools, would not have such a chance to learn such skills.
When all the trees were planted, everyone heaved an expected sigh of relief that our tree planting was completed. Whether it’s for conserving the environment or helping the community, this is by no means of any significant scale. Nevertheless, we believe this activity has helped us get closer to mother nature and appreciate the flora and fauna of the forest more than before. Also, after two weeks of hard work, we’ve certainly grown closer to one another and formed a tight bond within the team.
Written by: You Quan, Adeline and Si Jie
